Displaying items by tag: prisoners released

On Good Friday, families gathered outside prisons in Havana as authorities began releasing more than two thousand prisoners in what was described as a humanitarian gesture ahead of Holy Week. Emotional reunions brought joy and relief to many, as relatives embraced loved ones freed after months or years of separation. However, human rights groups expressed concern that few, if any, of those released were individuals detained for political reasons, notably those involved in mass protests in 2021. The releases come amid economic hardship and fuel shortages caused largely by the oil blockade imposed by the USA. Cubans were offered a brief moment of relief when Donald Trump allowed a Russian ship carrying enough fuel for ten days to reach the island; a second tanker is on the way. While the release of the prisoners brought hope to many families, questions remain about broader justice, transparency, and long-term change within the prison system and wider society.

A wave of releases of Christian prisoners was not a change in policy, as had been hoped. It has been followed by the arrest of eight Full Gospel Church leaders, and 35 Christians were detained after raids on two prayer meetings. Three of the Full Gospel leaders are pastors in their seventies. Police took Pastor Araya (75) and Pastor Okbamichael (74) from their homes in the middle of the night and placed them in a maximum-security interrogation centre. Pastor Gebreab (72) was sick and placed under house arrest until he recovers enough to be incarcerated. No reason was given for their arrest. Also following the discovery of a list of Christian contacts, fifteen men and women from different churches in Asmara have been re-arrested. Having been imprisoned for their faith for between five and 16 years, they had been released last summer.